


How To Proceed from Here

by TinCanTelephone



Series: From Tumblr, With <3 [20]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cutesy, Eavesdropping, F/M, Movie Night, Pre-Relationship, Unresolved Romantic Tension, gratuitous references to Silence of the Lambs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 01:32:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16231436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinCanTelephone/pseuds/TinCanTelephone
Summary: After movie night with two of her best friends, Jyn accidentally overhears them talking about something she probably wasn't supposed to.





	How To Proceed from Here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [melanoradrood](https://archiveofourown.org/users/melanoradrood/gifts).



> Prompted by @melanoradrood, based on [this reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/relationships/comments/9ej4vd/i_22f_overheard_my_guy_best_friend_21m_talking_to/) because the "imagine your otp" vibes were so strong :P
> 
>  
> 
> I literally wrote this in 3 hours at work

_Jynnnn we’re watching Silence of the Lambs you should join us :)_

Jyn grinned at her phone and closed her laptop, open to season 4 of The Office (again), then slipped on her shoes and headed upstairs to Cassian’s apartment. 

She could hear the rain pouring down outside from the stairwell and thanked the housing lottery gods Cassian and Kay had managed to snag a place in the same building as her and Bodhi. 

Last year, they lived across campus and it was the biggest pain in the ass to hang out on the regular. At some point, Cassian made a group chat and organized Best Friends Lunches every other Thursday, but sometimes her tutoring schedule conflicted and when she didn’t get to see her closest friends, she got grumpy. But Cassian was good about texting and made sure to get a meal with her every time she missed group events. And although she sometimes missed Bodhi and Kay, it was nice to hang out with just Cassian.

Over the summer, when they knew where they’d be living senior year, they determined they should make up for lost time and hang out every week, even if it was just to watch a movie or something. 

_Tell bodhi to come too,_  Cassian said when she was halfway up the stairs. 

_nah he’s at lukes_

_oh well i guess he’s busy lol_

So it would just be her, Cassian, and Kay. Good. 

The apartment smelled like popcorn when Cassian opened the door, smiling that bright smile of his. 

“Why are we watching this movie again?” she said. “It always freaks you out.”

“The internet’s scheduled to go down for maintenance in 24 minutes,” said Kay. “This is the only thing either of us has on DVD.”

“We're losing internet?”

Kay sighed. “Am I the only one who reads the university emails?”

Jyn rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

“That’s why we keep you around, Kay," Cassian said, attempting to wink at Jyn. 

She laughed and let him tug her over to the couch, where they waited for Kay to set up the TV. This was their traditional place, because Kay always got the easy chair, but usually they had to share with Bodhi. 

But since Bodhi wasn’t here, Jyn slipped in front of Cassian and stretched out her legs to take up the entire couch, smirking up at him. “Looks like you’re sitting on the floor.”

He didn’t even blink before sitting down on top of her feet, and Jyn pretended that didn’t make her chest feel a  _little_  warmer.

Her toes fell asleep before Clarice met Hannibal, so she pulled them out and put them in his lap. His hands rested on her ankles and traced patterns on her socks with his fingers, although he never glanced down, so maybe it was unconscious. 

Then she sat up to reach for popcorn and they ended up sitting next to each other. She didn’t  _mean_  to sit that close to him– their thighs weren’t even touching at first. But Cassian always got jumpy when they watched this movie and somehow when Clarice found Buffalo Bill’s basement, they were pressed so close together she could almost feel his heart beating.

She could  _definitely_  smell his shampoo, which may or may not have made it much harder to pay attention to the phone call at Clarice’s graduation. He didn’t immediately pull away when the credits started rolling, and neither did Jyn. 

It was only when her phone buzzed and she saw the time she reluctantly stood up, her whole right side feeling cold. “I should really get to bed.”

Cassian blinked. “Right. Yes, of course.” 

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

He showed her to the door, even though he really didn’t have to– she’d come over in her pajamas for Pete’s sake, and she started down the stairs, vaguely disappointed, although she wasn’t sure why. 

She didn’t realize she’d forgotten her key until she reached her apartment door. It had been poking her through her pocket at some point during the movie and she’d left it on Cassian’s coffee table. 

“Fuck.” With Bodhi at Luke’s, there was nothing for it but to go back upstairs. 

She was about to knock on their door when she heard it.

“–Jyn?” 

And she shouldn’t… she really, really shouldn’t, but she paused and listened closer. She was pretty sure it was Kay talking. 

Cassian responded, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

There was some shuffling around. “Bodhi says we should be together,” Cassian said.

Jyn froze. Oh shit. What did that mean? Did it mean what she thought it meant? How did she feel about it? What should she do? Fuck, she wasn’t sure. She needed to process…

Kay snorted. “Bodhi’s a romantic.”

There was silence, then more movement in the apartment. 

“Would you  _like_  to be together?”

Jyn swallowed. Her heart was pounding. 

“…Yes.”

Oh  _God_. He  _did_? Oh no, she shouldn’t have heard this. What was she supposed to do with this? She should interrupt. Yes, she should interrupt before this went any further and pretend she’d heard nothing.

Then Cassian continued, “I really like her, Kay. I mean, I always liked her but I missed her a lot this summer and I think… I don’t know. Yeah, I’d like to ask her out. You know, or something.” 

The sound of water running, then more silence. “While I cannot personally relate,” Kay said, “I think you would… what is it people say? ‘Make a cute couple.’”

Cassian huffed. “Thanks, Kay.”

“You’re welcome.” The fridge door opened and closed. “Did you ever get around to buying Bioshock Infinite?”

Jyn stopped listening at that, and didn’t hear Cassian’s response. 

Shit. Shitshitshitshit. This was so inconvenient. So, incredibly inconvenient. She couldn’t pretend she hadn’t  _thought_  about a date with Cassian, imagined dinner with him at a restaurant in town (maybe kissing him afterwords), imagined  _actually_  cuddling with him on the couch, imagined doing… other things on the couch. 

But he was her friend. Jyn had never dated one of her  _friends_. Wouldn’t that make it weird? Change their group dynamic in ways that could never be repaired? 

Or what if this was the start of something  _amazing_? What if it turned out they were meant for each other and would be together forever?

She shook her head.  _Slow down, Erso. Get a grip_. It was starting to get chilly in the hallway, and Kay and Cassian seemed to be deep in a conversation about something else, so she knocked on the door. 

She retrieved her key and pretended like she’d heard nothing. Kay and Cassian didn’t act like they suspected anything, and before she knew it she was lying in bed, staring at her phone open to the text conversation with Cassian. 

She started a text, _Do you_

Then she hesitated, and the cursor blinked back, mocking her. 

She closed her eyes.  _Just dive in. You’ll wonder forever what would’ve happened if you don’t_. 

So she finished,  _want to get dinner in town sometime? Just us?_

She pressed send and nearly threw her phone onto her nightstand so she wouldn’t be caught staring, waiting for a response. 

She was trying to convince herself she could go to sleep now and check her phone in the morning when it vibrated, and despite herself, she picked it up. 

_Yes :)_

Her heart started racing again and she tried to take deep breaths. It wasn’t a date, not yet. She’d just tell him how she felt… and maybe what she’d overheard. Then, if he still wanted, it could turn into a date. 

And wouldn’t that be nice? 

_:D_

**Author's Note:**

> [Original Tumblr Post](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/post/177958492090/fic-how-to-proceed-from-here) (I know it's been a while shut up)
> 
> Before anyone asks, no I will not be writing a follow-up with their actual date but anyone who wants to pick it up is welcome to! :) 
> 
> For other fics and cat pics, I'm on tumblr as [cats-and-metersticks](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/) :D


End file.
